The federal government made butterfly conservationists happy when they pledged $3.2 million in funding for the monarch this week.

Experts in Pacific Grove said it’s not likely local organizations will receive or use any of the money. Rather, what it is likely is the public will see a continued effort to inform people about the state of the butterfly.

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For first-time visitors at the Monarch Grove Butterfly Sanctuary, the fact that the species is in decline may not be immediately obvious.

Fogless, sunny days and an increase in monarch numbers this year has made for a lively atmosphere, with more of the intriguing insects taking flight in the sanctuary than there have been in years.

Ruth Hartmann, a docent at the sanctuary, said while 2014 and 2015 have seen a rise in population, the overall outlook for the Monarch is not good. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service there's been a 90 percent decline the population, from one billion in 1996, to just 13 million in 2013.

“The monarch population is overall declining over the last 10 years by leaps and bounds,” said Patrick Whitehurst, who works for the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.

Whitehurst said any funding is good news for conservationists, but adds that because the focus in Pacific Grove is on education, it's unlikely any of the $2 million will be spent by organizations on the Peninsula.

"We're just trying to create dialogue on the monarchs, and educate people on the importance that monarchs play in ecology, especially our local ecology," he said.

The decline of the monarch has been attributed to several environmental changes, the largest being encroachment on habitat. The monarch only lay eggs in milkweed, a type of vegetation which is often removed when human development occurs, and Whitehurst says this is why they promote milkweed protection.

The Museum says in the long term the new funding could affect change here in Central California, where more monarch butterflies will be seen if the total population increases in the future.